Wall form system

ABSTRACT

A form system based on a group of panels interconnected by junction beams preferably extending downward from the panels to form at least part of waler beam means normally secured to fastenings engaging the concrete. The junction beams have a cross section producing a ridge in the concrete intersected by the securing tie system holding the forms in position.

nlted States Patent [151 3,638,901

Williams 1 Feb. 1, 1972 [54] WALL FORM SYSTEM FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Inventor: (Jhester Williams, 347 iar 8 1,121,672 5/1956 France ..249/

Grand Rapids, Mich. 49506 [22] Filed; Mar. 25, 1969 Primary Examiner-J. Spencer Overholscr Assistant Examiner-Ben D. Tobor [21] Appl' 810251 AuomeyGlenn B. Morse [52] US. Cl. ..249/Z0, 25/131 SB, 249/219 R [57 ABSTRACT [51] lnt.Cl ..E04g 11/22 [58] Field of Search ..249/20, 22; /131 SA, 131 SB, A form system based on a group of panels interconnected by 35/131 K, 131 LM junction beams preferably extending downward from the 7 panels to form at least part of waler beam means normally 1 References Cited secured to fastenings engaging the concrete. The junction UNITED STATES PATENTS beams have a cross section producing a ridge in the concrete intersected by the securing tie system holding the forms In 969,435 9/1910 Adamson ..249/20 X iti 3,472,477 10/1969 .luhl ...249/20 X 3,510,098 5/1970 Fox ..249/20 4 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTED FEB H972 saw 10? 2 IHVEIJTOR Cheater I. Williams ATMMJEY sum 2 or 2 PATENIED Fi I :912

INVENTOR. Chester I. Williams BY j r. M

ATTORNE Y WALL FORM SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Standard techniques for producing walls of cast concrete normally involve the use of form panels interconnected by tie systems traversing the space in which the concrete is deposited. The tie system normally includes a rod that remains embedded in the concrete, and bolts in threaded engagement with the opposite ends of the rod for transferring the loading from the forms. After the concrete has set, the bolts are usually removed, and the forms stripped" off. In comparatively light-duty work, the bolts may be replaced by wedges engaging discontinuities in the tie assembly. With these arrangements, the stresses are transferred from the forms forming the opposite sides of a wall so that the forces on one side balance those on the other. Auxiliary shoring, often of a makeshift variety, may additionally be used to establish the alignment of the forms prior to pouring of the concrete. Alternatively a beam system on the forms may extend downward into engagement with fastenings engaging previous pours of concrete. This latter arrangement frequently appears in connection with formed faces of heavy masses of concrete that are not properly considered as walls. In this latter case, anchoring devices are embedded in the concrete, and the forces necessary to secure the forms are resisted entirely by the retention of the anchor devices in the concrete, rather than by a balance of forces between forms on opposite sides of the concrete structure.

Form systems are raised from one pour to the next succeeding position either by cranes, or by arrangements incorporated in the form structure which makes it possible for the form to remain attached to he concrete structure and be shifted upward from one pour to the next. The lifting action may be provided by equipment incorporated directly in the forms, or by auxiliary devices that may be attached temporarily for the lifting operation. The present invention incorporates the features of all three of these forming systems, including the through-tie arrangement, the cantilever structure involving beams extending downward to fastenings embedded inprevious pours, and arrangements for providing a climbing action so that the forms may be raised without the use of a crane.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The form structure provided by the present invention-utilizes a series of panels interconnected by junction beams having a configuration establishing a ridge in the poured concrete. In other words, the junction beams are offset from the plane of the inner face of the form panels. These junction beams are intersected by the tie systems extending through the space occupied by the poured concrete, and the tie system includes an embedded central rod threaded at opposite ends which are engaged by the bolts transferring stresses to the form system with conventional nuts. Preferably, the junction beams extend downward from the bottom of the forms to form at least part of waler beams secured to the developing concrete structure by tie bolts secured in previous pours. At these lower positions, the tie bolts engage vertically elongated slots in the waler beam means, and these slots permit the form structure to remain attached to the concrete as it is moved up from one pour to another (accompanied by a shift of the ties along the length of the slots). The alignment of the forms during this vertical movement is assisted by virtue of the continued engagement of the junction beam with the ridge in the concrete, which functions as a guideway. The tie bolts have a sufficient length of projections beyond the securing nuts to provide points for attachment of eye nuts to which a chain hoist or other lifting equipment may be conveniently attached for performing the lifting function and raising the form from one pour to the next. In cases where the formed walls are neither cylindrical or flat, a degree of lateral freedom of the tie bolts with respect to the vertical beams is provided to permit a degree of convergence of the beams and the line of tie systems as the wall structure develops upwardly. An outward flaring of the walls producing a divergence of these lines can be similarly accommodated.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary sectional elevation showing form systems secured in position with respect to a developing concrete wall, in condition for receiving a charge of concrete.

FIG. 2 is a section on the plane 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates the condition of the left face of the concrete structure, referring to FIG. 1, after the form responsible for hat face has been removed, or moved upwardly.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation on an enlarged scale over FIGS. 1 and 2, showing the details of tee securing bolt of the crosstie system.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevation showing the arrangements making possible the upward shifting of the form system from one pour to another.

FIG. 6 is a view showing the manner in which chain hoist can be used to elevate the form system from one pour to the next.

FIG. 7 is a section on the plane 7--7 of FIG. 6, on an enlarged scale.

FIG. 8 is a section on the plane 88 of FIG. 3, on an enlarged scale.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the form systems 10 and 11 are installed to define the opposite faces of an upwardly developing wall 12. The forms are in condition to receive a charge of concrete in the space 13, which will be deposited on the top 14 of the previous pour. Both the form systems 10 and 11 include panel sections 1516 and 17-18 interconnected by the junction beams 19 and 20, respectively. The illustrated panel sections are formed of wood planking, and plywood is also commonly used for this purpose. A series of conventional fastenings (not shown) of any convenient type may be used to secure the junction beams 19 and 20 to the associated panel sections. It is preferable that these panel sections be rabbetted at the edges so that the inner face of the forms is continuous with the inner face of the adjacent portions of the junction beams, as best shown in FIG. 2. The junction beam 19 of the form system 10 has a so-called hat" configuration which produces a ridge in the poured concrete. As the wall 12 develops upwardly, and it becomes necessary to move the forms upward from one pour to the next, the continued engagement of he beam 19 with the formed ridge functions as a guideway. In addition to thus, it will be noted that the tie systems 21 and 22 intersect the concrete at these ridges, which provides an additional depth of concrete at this point to receive the tapered inner ends 23 and 24 of the bolts 25 and 26. These bolts engage the threaded left ends of the inner tie rods 27 and 28, which are preferably deformed as shown at 29 and 30 to lock the rods against rotation after the concrete has set, so that the bolts can be detached without disturbing the bond of the rods to the concrete. The bolts 31 and 32 are similar in configuration to the bolts 25 and 26. It will be noted, however, that the junction beam 20, being flat in cross section, will not produce a ridge in the concrete wall as the structure of the wall develops. The junction beams 19 and 20 are preferably reinforced by channels as shown at 33 and 34, and the combination of these produces a composite waler beam extending downwardly below the panels to points of attachment with the hardened concrete of previous pours constituting the wall 12. This relationship is best illustrated in FIG. 5.

The composite beams including the channels 33 and 34, and the associated junction beams 19 and 20, are slotted as shown at 35 and 36 in FIG. 5, the length of these slots corresponding approximately to the height of the pours 37-40. In preparation for pouring in the space 13, the nuts of the tie systems 22 and 41 are tightened solidly to force the beams against the set concrete of the wall 12. After the concrete poured in the space 13 has set, and it becomes desirable to lift the forms for securing in position for the next pour, the ties 22 and 41 should be slightly loosened by back-rotating the nuts associated with these tie systems. The bolts in the positions 42 and 43 are removed, at least prior to the lifting of the form to the next height. At this time, the eye nuts 44 and 45 are applied to the threaded extensions of the bolts constituting the tie systems 22 to form a point of attachment for the chain hoists 46 and 47. The lifting chains 48 and 49 are then connected with the usual hooks to some convenient point at the lower extremity of the waler beams, and the chain hoist can then be operated to raise the forms to the next position, this movement being accompanied by a shift of the tie systems 22 and 41 in the associated slots 35 and 36. On proper alignment in the new positions, these ties are then tightened. It should be noted that the upward movement of the forms are necessarily preceded by removing the bolts of the tie system 21, the inner portion of which has been embedded in the concrete set on the space 13. The ties 42 and 43 were, in previous pours, in the relative position of the tie 21. On arrival at the form in the new position for pouring above the space 13, a new tie assembly is inserted in the position of tie 21. The tie 21 has then assumed the position of the tie 22 in FIG. 5. Bolts are then added to the installation at the new position uncovered by the upward movement of the slots, so that the form can again be secured in the condition shown in FIG. 1. If desired, scaffolding as shown at 50 and 51 can be incorporated in the form structure to facilitate the manipulation of the chain hoist and the alignment ofthe forms.

At all the points where the beams are traversed by fastenings or tie systems, provision is preferably made for a deviation of the beams from parallelism. A conical wall, for example will usually result in upward convergence of the beams, and the beam spacing will obviously reduce as the wall develops. An hourglass shaped structure will generate converging, and then diverging lines of fastenings and ridges. These can be accommodated by providing holes and slots in the beams of diameters (or transverse dimensions) greater than the diameter of the fastenings at these points. The panels will periodically have to be recut and the fastening holes relocated.

lclaim:

l. A form system and anchoring means for establishing the configuration of poured concrete, said system including a plurality of panels and normally vertical beam means secured to and extending a substantial distance below said panels, wherein the improvement comprises:

a substantially vertical portion ofsaid beam means normally secured to laterally adjacent form panels, said beam having a substantially continuous configuration in cross section throughout the length of said beam means providing an outward deviation from the plane of the inner face of said panels to produce a ridge in the poured concrete confined by said panels, said beam means being secured with fastenings traversing vertically elongated slots in said beam means below said panels, whereby said beam is adapted for aligning interengagement with the ridge throughout the length of said beam.

2, A system as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said beams is secured by at least two vertically spaced bolts engaging concrete poured against said panels, and said bolts are disposed with the axes thereof in planes converging or diverging with respect to the planes of the axes of laterally adjacent bolts in vertically successive pours of concrete.

3. A system as defined in claim 2, wherein said bolts have limited lateral freedom with respect to said beam means.

4. A system as defined in claim 3, wherein said beam means are secured to said panels with fastenings having limited lateral freedom with respect to said panels or beam means at least prior to tightening. 

1. A form system and anchoring means for establishing the configuration of poured concrete, said system including a plurality of panels and normally vertical beam means secured to and extending a substantial distance below said panels, wherein the improvement comprises: a substantially vertical portion of said beam means normally secured to laterally adjacent form panels, said beam having a substantially continuous configuration in cross section throughout the length of said beam means providing an outward deviation from the plane of the inner face of said panels to produce a ridge in the poured concrete confined by said panels, Said beam means being secured with fastenings traversing vertically elongated slots in said beam means below said panels, whereby said beam is adapted for aligning interengagement with the ridge throughout the length of said beam.
 2. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said beams is secured by at least two vertically spaced bolts engaging concrete poured against said panels, and said bolts are disposed with the axes thereof in planes converging or diverging with respect to the planes of the axes of laterally adjacent bolts in vertically successive pours of concrete.
 3. A system as defined in claim 2, wherein said bolts have limited lateral freedom with respect to said beam means.
 4. A system as defined in claim 3, wherein said beam means are secured to said panels with fastenings having limited lateral freedom with respect to said panels or beam means at least prior to tightening. 